Indian Wood Tikka Box

Orange paint, a little flaking, and the posture of a well-loved kitchen jar.

This painted wooden tikka box from Maharashtra is from Maharashtra, India, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is painted wood. Kumkum, a red powder, is commonly used for tikka and is often kept in small containers placed near a household shrine. Cylindrical lidded container with a broad cap, ringed edge and spiked finial. Orange-red pigment survives on the lid and shoulder, fading to bare, scratched natural color near the foot, with fine turned lines. It is 4.5 inches high and 3 in diameter.

Bright where it was painted, fearless where it was not.